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Use these promotions to get people to interact with your brand and start talking about the big ideas of your business. This type of active participation can be very difficult to create with a standard Facebook timeline post.

We’re always looking for new ways to help you market your financial business on social media sites. For some time, advisors have been
asking us about offering giveaways through contests and sweepstakes on Facebook in order to grow likes, boost engagement and drive more traffic to their websites.

And until recently, doing these types of things on Facebook was against the rules. But not anymore! This is great news for financial advisors and other small businesses alike. Here’s the skinny on what’s new about Facebook promotions, and how you can leverage them for your business.

What’s new

Facebook now allows you to host a promotion directly on the timeline of your business page. This means you can create a Facebook post promoting a contest, offering a prize, and requiring users to like and/or comment on that post as a form of entry. It’s important to note that a contest can only take place within your business page and only on the page’s timeline.
The rules

Even though Facebook has made it easier for to you create promotions through your business, there are still some rules to follow when you do:

1. Promotions can only take place on your business page. While you can encourage users to share a post on their personal timeline, this cannot count as a means of entry for a promotion.

2. Promotions can only take place within the timeline. You cannot have users like your page as a means to enter a contest, but you can
have them like a specific post.

3. You can have users enter a contest by posting a comment on your business page or by sending your page a direct message.

4. You are responsible for the lawful operation of your promotions (terms and eligibility), the official rules, and remaining
within the regulations governing the contest.

The biggest goal of hosting a promotion on Facebook is to increase engagement, page likes and traffic to your website.

1. Create a post with an offer and ask people to like it and leave a comment. These two actions can serve as a form of entry into the
contest.

2. You could ask people to submit photos and create an album of submissions. Ask people to vote by “liking” their favorite photo. The most
popular photo wins.

3. Drive traffic to your website by including a link which leads fans to a landing page describing the promotion in more detail.

Use these promotions to get people to interact with your brand and start talking about the big ideas of your business. This type of
active participation can be very difficult to create with a standard Facebook timeline post.
Best practices for financial advisors

Many of the same rules for creating a successful Facebook post also apply to creating a successful promotion for your financial service.

1. Create an attention-grabbing image. This will be the first element of the promotion that your fans will see and should motivate them to share it with their network. You can also use the image to explain what the contest is or what you can win.

2. Have an enticing giveaway. Your audience won’t be motivated to get engaged with you and enter your contest if the prize isn’t worth it. You could team up with a popular restaurant or local shop in your area and do a cross-promotion by giving away a gift card or discount.

3. Provide clear instructions. Viewers need to know exactly how to enter your promotion and how they will be notified if they win. For example, instruct fans to “leave a comment with your best money-saving tip and come back to this page on September 16 when we will announce the winner.”

4. Promote your contest by pinning your promotion post to the top of your timeline. Pay to have the post promoted to friends of people who already like your business page to get more participants involved.

Now that these types of promotions and contests are allowed on Facebook, take advantage and have fun with it. This is a great opportunity to show some personality and the spirit behind your business.

So, how are you going to take advantage of the new Facebook promotion rules? We’d love to hear any ideas and financial advisor success
stories for this new social media-marketing tool.

About the Author

Entrepreneur, author, speaker, and worldwide connector, Amy McIlwain is recognized internationally for radical new ways of thinking about Social Media, PR, marketing, advertising, and customer service.
A former NCAA Division I Soccer player, Amy started building and designing Websites back in th... More